Occupational Medicine and Corporate Health Management, Faculty of Health, University of Witten/Herdecke, Witten, Germany.
Work. 2023;75(3):1051-1057. doi: 10.3233/WOR-220228.
The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic acts as a recent driver for telework on a global scale. While visual display unit (VDU) workplaces are usually subject to regulatory requirements or occupational health and safety controls, mobile workplaces may increase the risk of developing work-related musculoskeletal complaints (MSCs).
This study aimed to explore the influence of work from home (WFH) on musculoskeletal complaints in the context of German municipal administrations.
This paper is based on an online survey conducted as part of the Health and Digital Change project in cooperation with three municipal administrations in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. A multivariate model was constructed to calculate the odds ratio for MSCs including various control variables.
While bivariate analysis showed a 0.96-fold risk for employees who work from home, the multivariate model with a split between occasional (OR = 0.79) and frequent (OR = 1.59) WFH revealed a more complex effect. Both odds did not reach the significance level. However, the influence of being female (OR = 3.34) and being overweight (OR = 1.51) was confirmed. Regarding age the OR increases by 1.02 per year of life. Other control variables were the municipal affiliation, university entrance qualification, working hours and feeling overstrained. The regression model improved by 0.07 (McFadden R2) compared to the null model.
Although WFH is discussed as a rising risk factor for MSCs, the findings in this study indicate, that occasional WFH acts as a rather protective factor against work-related MSCs.
2019 年冠状病毒（COVID-19）大流行在全球范围内推动了远程办公。虽然视频显示单元（VDU）工作场所通常受到监管要求或职业健康和安全控制的约束，但移动工作场所可能会增加患与工作相关的肌肉骨骼疾病（MSCs）的风险。
本研究旨在探讨在家工作（WFH）对德国市政管理中肌肉骨骼疾病的影响。
本文基于作为与德国北莱茵-威斯特法伦州的三个市政当局合作开展的健康与数字变革项目的一部分而进行的在线调查。构建了一个多变量模型，以计算包括各种控制变量在内的肌肉骨骼疾病的优势比。
虽然双变量分析显示在家工作的员工患肌肉骨骼疾病的风险增加了 0.96 倍，但具有偶尔（OR=0.79）和频繁（OR=1.59）WFH 之间划分的多变量模型显示出更为复杂的影响。这两个优势比均未达到显著水平。但是，女性（OR=3.34）和超重（OR=1.51）的影响得到了证实。关于年龄，每增加 1 岁，OR 增加 1.02。其他控制变量为市政隶属关系、大学入学资格、工作时间和感觉过度劳累。与零模型相比，回归模型提高了 0.07（麦克法登 R2）。
尽管在家工作被认为是肌肉骨骼疾病的一个上升风险因素，但本研究的结果表明，偶尔在家工作反而对与工作相关的肌肉骨骼疾病起到保护作用。
